Space shuttle comes in for final landing

After a spectacular air show, the space shuttle is now ready for retirement at the Smithsonian.

Nasa / Reuters

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), flies over the Washington skyline on April 17. This handout photo was taken as from a NASA T-38 aircraft.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

People gather to watch the arrival of the space shuttle Discovery, tethered to the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 17 in Chantilly, Virginia. Hundreds of people arrived early in the morning to watch the arrival of the shuttle from the parking lot of the center. The oldest and most traveled vehicle in NASA's space shuttle program, Discovery will be placed on permanent display at the museum.

Paul J. Richards / AFP - Getty Images

The Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing on the back of a NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), at Washington, Dulles International airport on April 17.